Honduras

republicIndependence 15 September 1821 (from Spain)

Honduras as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 123 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalTegucigalpa
LocationMiddle America, between Guatemala and Nicaragua
1994

Every edition of Honduras

Populationas each edition published it
5.31 million July 1994 est. · 5.26m in 1990
Population growth% a year
2.73% 1994 est. · 2.8% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 18.8 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 67.17 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
4.71 children per woman 1994 est. · 4.8 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
45.3 deaths per 1,000 live births 1994 est. · 62 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$1,950 1993 est. · $1,090 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
3.7% 1993 est. · 3.6% in 1993

Geography

Middle America, between Guatemala and Nicaragua

24 fields
Land boundaries
1,520km
total · Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km
Irrigated land
900sq km
(1989 est.)

Location

Middle America, between Guatemala and Nicaragua

Map references

Central America and the Caribbean, North America, Standard Time Zones of the World

total area

112,090 sq km

land area

111,890 sq km

comparative area

slightly larger than Tennessee

contiguous zone

24 nm

continental shelf

200-m depth or to depth of exploitation

exclusive economic zone

200 nm

territorial sea

12 nm

International disputes

  • land boundary dispute with El Salvador mostly resolved by 11 September 1992 International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision;
  • ICJ referred the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca to an earlier agreement in this century and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua likely would be required

Climate

subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains

Terrain

mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains

Natural resources

timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish

arable land

14%

permanent crops

2%

meadows and pastures

30%

forest and woodland

34%

other

20%

current issues

  • urban population expanding;
  • deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes;
  • further land degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices such as farming of marginal lands;
  • mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of freshwater) with heavy metals as well as several rivers and streams

natural hazards

subject to frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; damaging hurricanes and floods along Caribbean coast

international agreements

  • party to - Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection;
  • signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Tropical Timber

People

21 fields
Population
5,314,794
(July 1994 est.)growth rate: 2.73% (1994 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1994 est.)

Birth
34.97Death
6.22Net migration
-1.5

Ethnic divisions

mestizo (mixed Indian and European) 90%Indian 7%black 2%white 1%
Labor force
1.3million
Literacy
15and over can read and write
age · (1990 est.)

Infant mortality rate

45.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

total population

67.6 years

male

65.23 years

female

70.08 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate

4.71 children born/woman (1994 est.)

noun

Honduran(s)

adjective

Honduran

Religions

Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority

Languages

Spanish, Indian dialects

total population

73%

male

76%

female

71%

by occupation

agriculture 62%, services 20%, manufacturing 9%, construction 3%, other 6% (1985)

Government

Republic

33 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

53%
PNH 53%PLH 41%PDCH 1.0%PINU-SD 2.5%other 2.5%

Legislature, 134 seatsone dot, one seat

PNH 55PLH 77PINU-SD 2

conventional long form

Republic of Honduras

conventional short form

Honduras

local long form

Republica de Honduras

local short form

Honduras

Type

republic

Capital

Tegucigalpa

Administrative divisions

  • 18 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento);
  • Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro

Independence

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday

Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Constitution

11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

chief of state and head of government

  • President Carlos Roberto REINA Idiaquez (since 27 January 1994);
  • election last held on 28 November 1993 (next to be held November 1997);
  • results - Carlos Roberto REINA Idiaquez (PLH) 53%, Oswaldo RAMOS Soto (PNH) 41%, other 6%

cabinet

Cabinet

National Congress (Congreso Nacional)

  • elections last held on 27 November 1993 (next to be held November 1997);
  • results - PNH 53%, PLH 41%, PDCH 1.0%, PINU-SD 2.5%, other 2.5%;
  • seats - (134 total) PNH 55, PLH 77, PINU-SD 2

Judicial branch

Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justica)

Political parties and leaders

  • Liberal Party (PLH), Rafael PINEDA Ponce, president;
  • National Party (PN) has two factions: Movimiento Nacional de Reivindication Callejista (Monarca), Rafael Leonardo CALLEJAS, and Oswaldista, Oswaldo RAMOS Soto, presidential candidate;
  • National Innovation and Unity Party (PINU), Olban VALLADARES, president;
  • Christian Democratic Party (PDCH), Efrain DIAZ Arrivillaga, president

Other political or pressure groups

  • National Association of Honduran Campesinos (ANACH);
  • Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP);
  • Confederation of Honduran Workers (CTH);
  • National Union of Campesinos (UNC);
  • General Workers Confederation (CGT);
  • United Federation of Honduran Workers (FUTH);
  • Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH);
  • Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations (CCOP)

Member of

BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), LORCS, MINURSO, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

chief of mission

Ambassador Rene Arturo BENDANA

chancery

3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone

(202) 966-7702, 2604, 5008, 4596

FAX

(202) 966-9751

consulate(s) general

Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)

consulate(s)

Boston, Detroit, and Jacksonville

chief of mission

Ambassador William PRYCE

embassy

Avenida La Paz, Tegucigalpa

mailing address

American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa

telephone

[504] 32-3120

FAX

[504] 32-0027

Flag

  • three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with five blue five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band;
  • the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua;
  • similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band;
  • also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band

Economy

26 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$1,950
(1993 est.)
Real growth rate
3.7%
(1993 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate 0.8% (1990 est.); accounts for 15% of GDP
Unemployment rate
10%
underemployed 30%-40% (1992)

Overview

Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Agriculture, the most important sector of the economy, accounts for more than 25% of GDP, employs 62% of the labor force, and produces two-thirds of exports. Productivity remains low. Industry, still in its early stages, employs nearly 9% of the labor force, accounts for 15% of GDP, and generates 20% of exports.

The service sectors, including public administration, account for 50% of GDP and employ 20% of the labor force. Basic problems facing the economy include rapid population growth, high unemployment, a lack of basic services, a large and inefficient public sector, and the dependence of the export sector mostly on coffee and bananas, which are subject to sharp price fluctuations.

A far-reaching reform program initiated by former President CALLEJAS in 1990 is beginning to take hold. In 1993 the large fiscal deficit emerged as a key economic problem, the result of improvident state spending.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $10 billion (1993 est.)

revenues

$1.4 billion

expenditures

$1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $511 million (1990 est.)

Exports

$850 million (f.o.b., 1993 est)

commodities

bananas, coffee, shrimp, lobster, minerals, meat, lumber

partners

US 53%, Germany 11%, Belgium 8%, UK 5%

Imports

$1.1 billion (c.i.f. 1993 est)

commodities

machinery and transport equipment, chemical products, manufactured goods, fuel and oil, foodstuffs

partners

US 50%, Mexico 8%, Guatemala 6%

External debt

$2.8 billion (1990)

capacity

575,000 kW

production

2 billion kWh

consumption per capita

390 kWh (1992)

Industries

agricultural processing (sugar and coffee), textiles, clothing, wood products

Agriculture

  • most important sector, accounting for more than 25% of GDP, more than 60% of the labor force, and two-thirds of exports;
  • principal products include bananas, coffee, timber, beef, citrus fruit, shrimp;
  • importer of wheat

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for cocaine; illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption

recipient

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.4 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.1 billion

Currency

1 lempira (L) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates

  • lempiras (L) per US$1 - 7.2600 (December 1993), 7.2600 (1993), 5.8300 (1992), 5.4000 (1991);
  • 2.0000 (fixed rate until 1991) 5.70 parallel black-market rate (November 1990);
  • the lempira was allowed to float in 1992

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

15 fields

Networkskm

Railroads
785Inland waterways
465
Railroads: ; 508 km 1.067-meter gauge, 277 km 0.914-meter gauge

Railroads

785 km total; 508 km 1.067-meter gauge, 277 km 0.914-meter gauge

total

8,950 km

paved

1,700 km

unpaved

otherwise improved 5,000 km; unimproved earth 2,250 km

Ports

Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo

Merchant marine

270 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 831,856 GRT/1,248,186 DWT, bulk 25, cargo 177, chemical tanker 2, combination bulk 1, container 7, liquified gas 1, oil tanker 22, passenger 2, passenger-cargo 2, refrigerated cargo 20, roll-on/roll-off cargo 6, short-sea passenger 2, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 1

note

a flag of convenience registry; Russia owns 14 ships under the Honduran flag

total

160

usable

133

with permanent-surface runways

11

with runways over 3,659 m

0

with runways 2,440-3,659 m

4

with runways 1,220-2,439 m

14

Telecommunications

  • inadequate system with only 7 telephones per 1,000 persons;
  • international services provided by 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations and the Central American microwave radio relay system;
  • broadcast stations - 176 AM, no FM, 7 SW, 28 TV

Defense Forces

Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, Public Security Forces | (FUSEP)

4 fields

Branches

Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, Public Security Forces (FUSEP)

Manpower availability

  • males age 15-49 1,229,777;
  • fit for military service 732,866;
  • reach military age (18) annually 60,445 (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $42.8 million, about 1.3% of GDP (1993 est.)

Affiliation

(dependent territory of the UK)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Honduras.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/honduras/1994.

How to cite ← 1993 edition 1995 edition →